Turn It Up
by Kimura
Summary: Bones tells Jim to turn that damn music down! ... or tries to. AU. Pre-slash.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or its characters. I make no profit from this work of fiction._

* * *

><p>"Have fun, sweetheart," Leonard said, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Joanna's blond head.<p>

"You too, dad!" she replied with a grin as she hurried off to tap class in studio two.

Leonard made his way over to studio one. He had made the mistake a few months ago of commenting about the dusty piano in the corner of studio one to the owner of the dance studio. Sally had immediately asked if he could play, and Leonard admitted that he could. A few weeks later, he had been roped into accompanying the ballet classes a few times a week.

Leonard didn't mind; he hadn't played in a while, and it felt good. And it knocked a couple bucks off Joanna's tuition. He blinked as he entered studio one.

The piano was gone, and a group of people in what looked to be exercise clothes were milling about. "What the hell?"

"Dr. McCoy! I'm sorry I couldn't catch you before class," Evelyn said, pulling him aside.

"What the hell's going on?"

"Well, the Zumba class needed more room, so they now get studio one. We're in three."

Leonard's eyes widened. "That's tiny!"

Evelyn sighed. "I know. But I don't make the rules. They moved the piano over for you."

Leonard grunted and nodded, crossing through the crowd of people to get to studio three. He sat down at the piano and set down his bag, rolling his shoulders to release the tension.

It took a few extra minutes for the class to assemble, due to the change in rooms. Finally, Evelyn took attendance and started the barre sequence. Leonard kept the pieces simple, in the time Evelyn needed them. At this point, he worked well with all of the teachers.

About fifteen minutes into the class, Leonard nearly fell off the piano bench as a heavy bass started pounding through the wall.

The ballet students tittered, and Evelyn sighed. "I know the sound from Zumba may be a little distracting, but we'll just have to work through it."

It wasn't easy. Leonard kept getting distracted by the beat of the Latin music and occasionally losing the timing of what he was playing. _This is ridiculous!_ he thought. _How can they _possibly_ need the music that loud?_ Occasionally, he could hear the instructor shouting and encouraging the class over the music.

Leonard did _not_ need this after a long day at the hospital. The thumping bass seemed to be driving right into his skull.

"All right ladies, take a break and get some water," Evelyn said when the barre sequence was finished. She looked like she was about to apologize to Leonard again for the noise, but he had had enough.

He walked to the door between the studios and yanked it open. "If ya'll don't turn that racket down, so help me, I will …" He trailed off as his eyes fell on the instructor.

The man leading the class was glistening with sweat and had removed his shirt; it was tucked into the waistband of his black shorts. His chest and arms were well defined with muscle, and fine blond hair covered his solid abs before disappearing into the shorts. He stared into the man's blindingly blue eyes in the mirror. A headset sat on top of his blond head with a little black microphone in front of his mouth.

Leonard completely lost what he was going to say; his mouth went dry.

The instructor gestured for the class to march in place before going to the stereo and turning down the music. He smiled winningly. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Uh … we've got girls tryin' to do ballet next door. So, if it's not too much trouble, could you keep it down a little?"

"Sure, man, no problem!"

"Thanks," Leonard grumbled, shutting the door.

Thankfully, Evelyn didn't comment; he knew his face was bright red, even without looking at the wall of mirrors. He sat back down at the piano and coughed. "That guy new?"

"Yeah," Evelyn answered. "Jim Kirk. Zumba class size has almost doubled since he started teaching. It's a good money maker for the studio."

Leonard grunted noncommittally, running his fingers over the piano keys. He needed a distraction. Any distraction. It seemed to take the girls forever to finish their water break and get back to dancing.

Kirk kept his word, and the thumping Latin music was softer for the rest of the class.

* * *

><p>Leonard sat in the waiting room with the other parents, patiently waiting for his daughter to change out of her dance clothes and finish socializing with her friends.<p>

Someone abruptly sat next to him. "Hey, I wanted to apologize about the loud music."

Leonard looked over and then frantically looked elsewhere. _Damn it. Kirk_. "Well, I appreciate you turning it down. I was having a hard time keeping the beat."

"You dance?"

Leonard shook his head emphatically. "No. I play the piano for ballet while my daughter's in tap class."

"That's awesome! The girls are lucky to dance with live accompaniment!"

Leonard nodded.

"Well, hopefully, the studio can get around to soundproofing three a bit better. But until then, I'll try to keep it down."

Leonard finally forced himself to look at the man, who had at least thankfully put his shirt back on. "We appreciate it."

Kirk stuck out his hand. "Jim Kirk."

Leonard shook it. "McCoy. Leonard McCoy."

"So, does Mrs. McCoy dance?"

"Mrs. McCoy moved to another state. We're divorced."

"Oh," Jim said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Any other conversational landmines I should avoid?"

Leonard laughed. "Not that I can think of at the moment."

"You know, next time you're here after class, I'd love to hear you play."

"That might be nice. Gets a little old playing only classical sometimes."

Jim laughed, and Leonard mentally told himself not to get addicted to the sound.

"But, uh, don't expect much. I'm not great or anything."

Jim shrugged. "I can't play at all, so I'm not one to judge. There's just something about live music, you know?"

Leonard nodded. "Yeah. I used to play with a band when I was in college." _Damn it, why am I getting nostalgic with someone I just met?_

Jim just grinned at him. "I'll bet you did."

Joanna finally appeared, texting busily on her phone. "Ready, dad?"

"Sure, hon." He stood and nodded at Jim. "See you next time?"

Jim smiled up at him. "I look forward to it."

Joanna waited until they were in the parking lot before she said anything. "Dad, was that the new Zumba instructor?"

"How could you tell?" he griped. "You didn't even look up!"

"All the girls are talking about how hot he is!" she giggled, getting into the passenger seat. "What were you two talking about?"

"Music," Leonard answered, getting in and putting the key into the ignition.

"Oh em gee. Dad, did he ask you to play for him?"

"As a matter of fact, he did. Why?"

Joanna just giggled and frantically texted on her phone. "Nothing!"

Leonard grumbled to himself as he put on his seatbelt and waited until his daughter did the same. If he hadn't already thought it, Joanna's reaction confirmed that Jim Kirk was trouble with a capital T.

And yet, he found himself wondering how much it would cost to take a class with him.


End file.
